THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday said the news of a Kerala startup Profoundis being acquired by a US-based firm indicated that global players were noticing the innovative work of Kerala youngsters. The chief minister was interacting with college students at at the IEDC Summit 2016 which he termed as one of the biggest conglomeration of aspiring young entrepreneurs. “Profoundis and the four youngsters who began the startup, today have become role models for the entire youth of Kerala. Their entrepreneurship journey was difficult but they have achieved success which is an inspiration for all the aspiring entrepreneurs,” he said.
The chief minister said Kerala Startup Mission was working towards promoting entrepreneurship among youth on behalf of the state. IEDCs have been set up in colleges to identify and nurture aspiring entrepreneurs and bring them under one umbrella, he added. Mr Vijayan said the summit was ideated to connect all the 147 IEDCs, identify talent and share with them experiences of the success of their friends and peers.
“Kerala government has also earmarked Rs 150 crores towards setting up a telepresence network across all these colleges which will enable sharing of ideas, thought the process and learning together,” he said. Seventy innovative projects and 50 idea pitches were showcased at the summit. The first prize of Rs 12,000 was won by Government Polytechnic College, Meypadi, Wayanad for their project Bluedrop Virtual Reality Cumulator.
